The proposal is not to abandon bream protections statewide. It is to consider a time-limited, watershed-specific tool that could increase removal of an established nonnative apex predator while retaining enforceable safeguards.
The Florida conflict
FWC fishing guidance recommends live bream for Choctawhatchee flatheads. Florida Rule 68A-23.007 allows an angler to use legally caught whole or cut bream with rod and reel or pole and line, but prohibits that bait on trotlines and bush hooks.
- Passive gear can fish continuously and add removal effort.
- Current gear identification and hook-count rules can remain.
- Any pilot should be limited to nongame-catfish harvest in the watershed.
A controlled pilot
A defensible program could require bait to be legally caught by hook and line, count it within normal creel limits, prohibit imported wild bait, require same-watershed sourcing, retain a 25-hook limit, require frequent gear checks, and run for three to five years with annual reporting.
Other states provide models
Alabama allows legally harvested bream as bait and permits jugs, limb lines, and trotlines. Georgia and Mississippi also allow gamefish or bream as bait under conditions. South Carolina has used river-specific live-bream exceptions, showing that a state can create narrow geographic rules instead of changing its entire statewide system.